Just after 1000 hours on the morning of July 13, 1943, four Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 fighters of II./JG 54, led by Oberfeldwebel Otto Kittel, were scrambled from strip alert at Orel, on the German Eastern Front in Russia, approximately 220 miles (360 kilometers) south-southwest of Moscow.
Operation “Zitadelle”
A massive German offensive on the Eastern Front, ordered by Hitler and codenamed Operation “Zitadelle” (Citadel), had commenced on July 5, 1943. Now in its ninth day, the German advance was faltering and was destined to collapse into a reversal and retreat under the sheer weight of Soviet counterattacks. Hitler called a stop to the offensive on July 17 and the Germans never recovered from the setback. The battle encapsulated a contest for air superiority and air support of the ground forces.…
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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, January - February 2022